Delightfully inspired trials and tribulations

Tag Archives: NOLA

The next morning was warmer but still chilly, I think I pretty much wore the same outfit each day, haha. Thank goodness for the boots I found at Target!! More on what I packed for our trip here.

We packed up and had the front desk hold our bags…… we had important business to take care of….. BRUNCH!!! If there was a secondary experience in New Orleans that we look forward to it’s a fantastic New Orleans style Jazz Brunch. Brennan’s was highly recommended by the concierge (who made a reservation for us on the spot) and BAM, we were on our way.

Our table was waiting on us when we arrived but we decided to sit at the bar for just a few minutes and order a Bloody Mary. We had a few appetizers and a delicious breakfast. The table next to us ordered the famous Bananas Foster. There’s not many things you can compare to flaming brandy within 3 feet of your face! Think Hibachi table flame – okay? Okay.

Brunch was just sooooo dang good. I love the smaller portions and the fact they have a brunch appetizer menu. Once again the service was impeccable. In fact just about every where we ate or drank, haha, the service was 100%.

The couple next to us lived in the City, I was instantly jealous. What a great place to live! To have the option to experience all that NOLA has to offer at any time you feel like it was really exciting to me. I was thinking to myself, if only we had one more full day.

From Brennan’s’ we walked towards Jackson Square. The square is lively enough for entertainment on any day but I still had The List and we still had two hours!

Time to get in a museum!The Cabildo is a Louisiana State Museum that originates back to the late 1700’s. So much history has taken place in this building including the Louisiana Purchase transfer ceremony. Among the hundreds of artifacts that call this museum home, the relic that I wanted to see……. Napoleon’s Death Mask!! Yep, it’s there. Oddly enough Scott and I kept losing each other! This building is 3 stories with each floor mostly open concept but we both got so engrossed in the information and artifacts displayed we got seperated. Make the grand staircase your home base if you get lost -mkay?

Keeping with the Napoleon trend, we ventured to the Napoleon House in the midst of the French Quarter. Their signature drink is guess what? A Pimm’s Cup – haha Yep, I needed to compare it to the others I had consumed. It was good – a little different, but good. We ordered a Shrimp salad Avocado knowing this was our last stop.

The List was 35% complete but I felt like we were able to experience enough of NOLA and I was satisfied. As always, its a learning curve and the main reason I like to repeatedly visit places we have been to before. Until next time New Orleans!!!!

The Cafe au Lait…… I wish I knew exactly what magic is performed to create such a perfect cup of coffee. Trust me, I’ve tried but nothing compares to the cup of goodness you’ll find in New Orleans.

On Day#2 of our weekend getaway, this was our breakfast. Since our first day was compromised by crazy weather, “The List” was still hanging around with so much still needing to be accomplished.

The St Charles streetcar travels in a continuous loop from Canal Street to just west of Audubon Park on St Charles Ave – hence the name. For $3 you can hop on and off as many times as you like in a 24 hour period. By your tickets from the driver and your all set!

We pulled on our most comfortable cold weather attire and headed out the door to catch the St Charles. Our first stop was the Lafayette Cemetery in the Garden District.

*side note* The Garden District deserves it’s own post. I will elaborate on this extraordinary historical place some other time. It is magnificent!

At the corner of Washington & Prytania, we stopped for a coffee and another muffin at a cute little cafe. I could see the entrance to the cemetery and was super excited!

Cemeteries are beautiful. Some may find them depressing and I understand why. Some see death, I see history and family legacies. The New Orleans cemeteries have been on my bucket list for a long time. Some of the people buried here were born in the 1700’s.

The only pictures I took was of the outside wall, which is actually comprised of individual vaults. I wanted to take more photos but I decided to be present in the moment and take it all in.

And then, let’s take a selfie!

Next stop: The Tree of Life! Planted in the early 1700’s this beauty has been through it all. Hurricanes, vandalism, lightning, etc. The sprawling branches reach out so far they actually touch the ground and begin reaching up towards the sky.

We hopped back on the St Charles and rode to the Audubon Park. It was a sunny day but chilly, and we had a 15 block walk ahead of us. The Audubon Park is comprised of a golf course, public park, the Great Audubon Oaks and the Audubon Zoo.

Check it out online. It’s beautiful!

Not knowing exactly where it was located we asked for guidance from a few folks and to my surprise we were the only ones (at the time) appreciating this enormous oak.

By now our ‘dogs were barkin’, slang for my feet hurt – haha. Thankfully we were close to Magazine Street and most importantly the Magazine Street bus – yipee!! Another one of the free bus lines in the city, check!

Magazine Street was on The List, along with a few retail stores, pubs and restaurants. We didn’t go to any of them, though. I was too tired! A cute alfresco mexican cafe sparked our palettes and we had quite possibly the best nachos in the world. If only I could remember the name… whoops. I was tired, hungry and ready for a beer. Sometimes you just don’t know how far you’ll end up walking.

We arrived back at the Roosevelt in time for a nap before dinner. I don’t actually nap but it was awesome to get in the cozy robe and relax for a while – so totally awesome. My thoughts on completing The List were dwindling.

Something out of a horror movie occured while I was getting ready. We had heard all sorts of banging and mysterious noises for around 20 or 30 minutes. I mentioned to Scott maybe we should call the front desk but we kinda brushed it off to possible maintenance in a room nearby. As I walked back into the bathroom from that quick convo, I heard a weird SWOOSH noticed the sink had filed with a black sludge…. Similar to something you’d see in one of the super creepy movies I refuse to watch! It was horrific!! We immediately called the front desk and I removed all my belongings from the bathroom. In two minutes time the black sludge had completely filled the sink and was spilling out onto the marble floor, creeping out of the bathroom towards the closet and carpet. I called the front desk again to inform them these guys better hurry up!! She assured me that we would not be staying in this room!

The maintenance crew arrived with the largest wet-vac I have ever seen and began to slurp up the gunk. By now I had changed out of my cozy robe and we had packed up everything! The Hotel staff immediately moved us to another room. Turns out maintenance was working on a clog in the room above us. For whatever reason it caused an overflow into OUR ROOM!! I can’t imagine what would have happened if we would not have been in the room at that moment. Basically I can…… EVERYTHING would had been ruined!!! Our luggage, shoes, my makeup, anything on the floor.. oh my goodness. We settled into our new room and basically didn’t miss a beat. I still got ready in time for us to get to Arnaud’s French 75 Bar for a before dinner Pimm’s Cup! Winning!

Our table at GW Fins was in the perfect location. A booth in the back of the dining room a little above the main floor. Dinner was divine as usual! You MUST try the Scalibut Entree, trust me. Dessert was delicious!! *Tip: I made our reservation 6 weeks in advance. I know that sounds crazy but you never know what’s happening in New Orleans. Weddings, celebrations, sports games, conferences, etc……. the restaurant was packed. Reservations are ALWAYS a good idea when in NOLA.

We ventured onto Bourbon Street after dinner just for kicks. Not my favorite street in NOLA but what the heck. At this time, the city was replacing drainage pipes on Bourbon a few blocks at a time. This made the typical “stroll along the street” impossible. We were constantly shuffling around people on the even-smaller sidewalk area. Since we had such a long day and had to change rooms do to that nasty plumbing issue we decided to call it a night. We stopped by one of the little bars in the hotel and grabbed a night cap to take up to the room.

Saturday night in New Orleans and we are in bed at 1030pm. Who would have thought?! The List still had a ton of things we had not crossed off, unfortunately. We still had most of Sunday, thankfully 🙂

I’ll end this post of Day 2 here. Be sure to check out Day 1 and Day 3! And please like or comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts on New Orleans and places you can recommend for our next visit.